Expert answer

Hi Tanya,

Without knowing your budget just yet, it is a little difficult to guess, but a car that is a top buy for a family, with a great boot is something like a Skoda Octavia. One like this has low mileage, a frugal diesel engine and will be perfect for a lot of mileage. It is solid and has a great sized boot too.

The Nissan Qashqai has been a massive seller in Ireland of late, with good reason too, as it is very good value, has a brilliant safety record, looks great and is perfect for a family. Here is a fully loaded 1.5-litre diesel for €20,950 with low mileage. 

You could have the choice of a number of family hatchbacks too, such as a Ford Focus, Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Auris or perhaps even a small MPV.

Come back to us with more details and we will try and help you further. Just add your comment to the comment box below.

Expert answer

Hi Carl,

The thing about fuel economy figures from the manufacturer is that they are often very difficult to match. We seldom match them, as they are recorded using specific lab conditions and are often not really reflective of real-world conditions.

There are some things you can do to improve your fuel economy however:

1 Pump up to cut down 

Under-inflated tyres create more resistance. That means your engine has to work harder, so more fuel is used. Check and adjust your tyre pressures regularly, and also before long journeys.

2 Less clutter means less CO₂ 

Clutter in your boot is extra weight in your car. By removing it, you could reduce your engine's workload. This will burn less fuel.

3 Drive at an appropriate speed 

Staying at or within the speed limit not only increases driver safety, it also reduces fuel consumption. At 110km/h you could be using nine percent more fuel than at 100km/h, and up to 15 percent more fuel than at 80km/h.

4 Less stopping and starting 

Every time you stop then start again in a traffic queue the engine uses more fuel. Keep an eye on the traffic ahead and slow down early by gently lifting your foot off the accelerator while keeping the car in gear. The traffic may have started moving again by the time you reach the vehicle in front, so you can change up a gear and be on your way.

5 Over-revving accelerates emissions 

Modern car engines are designed to be efficient from the moment they are switched on, so revving up like a Formula 1 car in pole position only wastes fuel and increases engine wear. Using your gears wisely by changing up a gear a little earlier can also reduce revs.

6 Idling is wasting fuel 

When the engine is idling, you're wasting fuel. If you're likely to be at a standstill for more than three minutes, simply switch off the engine.

 – Source: Defra UK

Expert answer

Hi Angela,

We spoke to Shane Teskey from Motorcheck.ie and he gave us the following advice:

"Buying a used car through a third party is a risky business and not something we would recommend. Knowing who you're buying a car from is as important as checking the car's history. If you buy through this third party will you have a full 12-month warranty (check the fine print - some warranties aren't worth the paper they're printed on!)?

Have you been given the registration number and V5 documented details? What's the potential saving and would it justify taking a trip to the dealer to inspect the car in person?

Add to this the fact that you risk losing a substantial deposit of €495 and I'd say walk away. Shop local!"

I would echo this, there are so many good used Irish cars around at the moment that I would check all these first, before embarking on anything that sounds like it might be risky. 

Expert answer

Well firstly, congratulations on your impending arrival. I am going to be conservative and say that you might get around €4,000 for your Focus, but let's say that you have a budget of around €14,000.

You could indeed have a Ford Galaxy for this price, with a 2005 model with 79,000 miles (1.9 110hp diesel) costing you €12,950. 

It seems to be hard enough to find examples of the Alhambra around that are on sale from official SIMI dealers, which is something we would recommend, but you would pay very similar money for an equivalent Alhambra.

The Sharan is pretty much identical to the Alhambra, but they tend to end up a little bit more expensive because of the VW badge on the front, so I think these should probably be avoided, as there is no major benefit for quite a lot of extra money.

In terms of alternatives, there are a few you could look at. Have you considered the Opel Zafira? The rear seats might not be as big as you would like, but they are fine for small ones and it is a nicer car to drive than the ones you have mentioned.

If you wanted something a lot newer, you could have a petrol Renault Grand Scenic. We found a 2008 example with low mileage for under €14,000. I know you might prefer a diesel, but if your mileage is low then this could be a good buy.

In terms of your query on mileage on older cars, it isn't unusual for cars like this to have low mileage, because they tend to do things like short school runs and are often second cars in families. However, you can always be as sure as possible by buying from an SIMI dealer. 

Expert answer

Hi there,

There are very few small diesel cars available under the scrappage scheme that match your budget, but there are quite a few small petrol models that run the diesels close in terms of fuel economy. 

You could have the Fiat 500 for €9,995 under the scheme, which although it is petrol, is Band A, with just €102 per year road tax. 

You could have a Fiat Grande Punto, a much larger car, for €9,995 or, if you really wanted a diesel one you could have that for €12,495.

The Ford Ka, a similar car to the 500, would cost just €7,995 under the scheme, with the even better Fiesta costing €11,700, but again these are petrol models. 

Similarly, the Renault Clio is a smashing little car and a petrol one will cost you just €8,990 under the scheme, but a diesel one will cost you €12,200. 

The Hyundai i10, a five-door model, is also worth a look. The 1.2-litre, 78bhp petrol i10 is a good little car and comes with a choice of manual or automatic transmissions. Hyundai will add a further €2,000 to the Government's €1,500 discount, so the i10 effectively starts at €8,495. 

Our advice is that you forget about a diesel under scrappage unless you are prepared to up your budget. 

Out of that lot, I'd take a strong look at the Fiesta, or if you must stick to €10,000, perhaps the Ford Ka or the Fiat 500.

Expert answer

Hi Fergal,

This is quite an eclectic mix of cars. We can't really give you an exact valuation on your Mondeo, but if we guess that it will be worth around €11,000 (you might get more) then you should have a budget of €31,000.

You could get into a brand new Jaguar X-Type for this price without too much difficulty. Bear in mind that this car is no longer made and while there are a few around, residuals won't hold up too well in the future. But you are getting quite a lot of car for your €30,000 with that. 

You could have a 2008 BMW 520d from a BMW dealer for under €30,000, obviously less than that if you decided to go non main dealer. Have a look at this one from a main dealer here.

A 2007 Mercedes-Benz E 220 CDi from a main dealer will cost you about €28,000. Here is an example. This would be more comfort-orientated, but obviously a year older than the BMW.

Finally if you wanted a passenger Touareg (as opposed to the commercial version), you would get a 2007 model, maybe a 2008 with this budget. This would obviously be a very different drive to what you are used to and running costs could be a little higher. Here is a good used example. 

Out of this lot, I would have the BMW, just from a personal point of view. That 5 Series was better than the E-Class of the same age. The X-Type is an old, discontinued car and I wouldn't spend that sort of money on a new one. The Touareg is nice, but it's very different to the others, so you would need to try it.

Hope this helps. 

Expert answer

The short answer is yes this is a good car and more so because the scrappage offer is outstanding and no other car firm can quite match what Renault is offering in terms of discount. There is no other car out there at the moment that offers so much for the price and of course it is also very cheap to run and looks great.

Hope this helps.

Expert answer

Hi Michael,

We found an identical car to yours with the same mileage for sale for €8,950. You probably won't get offered that much as a trade in, but you could have an overall budget of about €17,000.

In terms of the Mazda6, that is a really good car and there weren't too many of the diesel models sold initially. The petrol models sold in higher numbers initially because they were cheaper than the diesel ones at the time.

You would pay about €16,950 for a 1.8-litre petrol model like the one we found here at a SIMI dealer.

Here is another excellent one in Cork, for €16,900.

Diesel models cost quite a bit more, with a 2008 model at a SIMI dealer costing closer to €20,000.

For the mileage you do, you could get away with a petrol model without totally breaking the bank and you certainly won't save in fuel costs by spending the extra on the diesel model. Granted, road tax will be higher on the petrol.

You could probably get into a 2008 Passat BlueMotion with your budget and that too would be a good car. Yes, I've heard of some occasional issues with the latest Passat, such as a problem with the power steering and with the electric parking brake, but they have been pretty well dealt with by Volkswagen.

Expert answer

The reason we have talked about the Qashqai+2 a lot of late is that there seems to be quite a few people asking us about seven seats, but not really wanting an MPV. The Verso is an MPV, so as such is usually compared to its main rivals such as the Ford C-MAX and Renault Scenic.

Compared to the Qashqai+2, the Verso comes with a 2.0-litre diesel engine and the Qashqai+2 usually comes with a 1.5-litre diesel engine. The Verso has more power with 125hp against 104hp in the Qashqai+2. The Verso has faster acceleration (about two seconds faster to 100km/h from rest) and in terms of fuel economy the Verso again is slightly more frugal. The CO₂ emissions in are both Band C, with road tax of €302. However the new Qashqai+2 does drop a tax band to Band B.

Both cars have five-star Euro NCAP safety ratings and come with multiple airbags. ESP (electronic stability control) is standard fit on both cars too. The rear-most row of seats would be more generous in the Verso compared to the Qashqai+2 even though they share an almost identical wheelbase. There is also more shoulder room in the second and third row of seats.

In terms of price, a 2009 Verso will cost you about €25,000 - €27,000, while a new Qashqai+2 will cost you from €30,450 for a new one and about €26,000 - €27,000 for a 2009 model.

Both have pretty poor luggage space with the rear-most seats in place, but loads with the third row folded, so it depends how often you intend using the seats.

I hope this helps.

Expert answer

Hello again Angela,

I know Shane answered your last question, but I think I can answer your follow up question. The Golf and Leon are quite similar; the Leon is definitely the prettier car and the Golf the more sensible. I know what you mean about the Leon range, as there are 17 different versions, which seems excessive.

The thing is with SEAT is that it tends to get the older technology from Volkswagen, so the Leon still has an older engine range, namely the 1.9-litre TDI, which is quite a noisy old engine. The 2.0-litre TDI is also available in the Leon, but at a higher cost.

The 1.6-litre 105hp engine in the Golf is a newer and cleaner engine, with better fuel economy. It hasn't made it to the Leon just yet, so the better engine is in the Golf right now.

In terms of running costs, the road tax is slightly less on the Golf, at €104 against the €156 in the Leon. The Golf has slightly better fuel economy (62.8mpg v 56.5mpg) but that is a relatively small difference.

That Leon is great value, but in terms of an investment I would be inclined to go with the Golf, as I would think the residual value will be better with the newer Golf with the newer engine.

Hope that helps